There have been many studies, blogs, book,s newspaper articles, etc on the qualities entrepreneurs have in common. Now the Digital Banking Report’s “Innovation in Retail Banking” gives us a view of how innovative leaders in banking perform.
According to The Financial Brand, these banking leaders share three important characteristics: they generate greater profits, they leverage new technologies, and those of advanced analytics. As a result they achieve higher satisfaction scores.
Why is this important? The simple answer is, because the financial institutions need to embrace innovation and join the digital revolution. That requires strong leadership and a certain amount of fearlessness. Those leaders will need to challenge the current system, as well as push the limits of the available technology. But, perhaps most importantly, the banks need to put the spotlight on the customer, and they need innovators who understand this.
Complacency is the banks’ biggest enemy, and it is something they are finding it tricky to get around. After all, they have been around for hundreds of years in some cases, and have a sense of entitlement. If their shareholders seem content, and the majority of their customers happy, then why do anything to move with the times? This attitude is what is helping the digital challengers.
The neobanks have discovered ways to deliver a more keenly price service and a better customer experience. As the Financial Brand says, “Unlike the iterative innovations from the past, a premium is now being placed on “big ideas,” agility, and real-time application of data for personalized contextual experiences.”
What the banks need to do
For the banks to embrace innovation, they need to think in terms of interdepartmental co-operation, as well as being prepared to break up their legacy systems and rethink them. They also need to look outside their own world and find more opportunities to collaborate with fintechs and look at a range of more up-to-date solutions. They should be incorporating AI, robotic process automation, blockchain and the Internet of Things amongst others into their thinking.
There is also a pressing need to retrain employees. The Financial Brand points out that we are facing a skills shortage, so the banks not only need to embrace retraining of existing workers, they also need to rethink their hiring strategy and bring in more of those people who have been immersed in digital technology since their early years.
The leaders in banking who will win this game are those who are able to embrace these challenges and take their organisations into a new future. The banks without leaders having these qualities will surely get left behind.